Second Chance
by lindachelle
Summary: Lana returns to Smallville hoping to reunite with Clark. Oneshot.


**The characters here belong to the CW and the creators of Smallville. The song "Second Chance" belongs to Shinedown. **

**A/N: Not necessarily a songfic but definitely inspired by one.**

_My eyes are open wide  
By the way I made it through the day  
I watch the world outside  
By the way I'm leaving out today_

_  
I just saw Hayley's comet she waved  
Said "why you always running in place?  
Even the man in the moon disappeared  
Somewhere in the stratosphere"_

Tell my mother, tell my father  
I've done the best I can  
To make them realize  
This is my life  
I hope they understand  
I'm not angry, I'm just saying  
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance

Please don't cry one tear for me  
I'm not afraid of what I have to say  
This is my one and only voice  
So listen close, it's only for today

_I just saw Hayley's comet she waved  
Said "why you always running in place?  
Even the man in the moon disappeared  
Somewhere in the stratosphere"_

Tell my mother, tell my father  
I've done the best I can  
To make them realize  
This is my life  
I hope they understand  
I'm not angry, I'm just saying  
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance

_  
Here is my chance  
This is my chance _

The soft sound her shoes made on the old, creaking wood of the barn was so familiar and so foreign that Clark was sure he was imagining it. It was a sound he never thought he would hear again. As if trying to confirm his delusion, Clark whirled around just in time to see her reach the top of the stairs.

In that one instant, all the memories came flooding back--the secret crush he'd held for years, their first kiss, hearing her say that she loved him, the feel of her skin, the scent of her hair, the goodbye she'd left for him. The rush of emotion hit him hard and for a moment he could do nothing but stare.

"Lana…"

"Hello, Clark." She inclined her head and gave him a sheepish smile. It was the smile that so often had made his resolve crumble. He waited for the tingling rush of anxiety that had constantly plagued him when she was around. It never came.

"I never expected to see you here again."

Lana's smiled wavered and her brow furrowed. She could hear the distance in his voice. "I know. I realize that what I did…the way I left…it wasn't fair to you, Clark. It's taken me a while but I finally understand that my place is beside you, no matter what your destiny is. I've never stopped loving you, Clark, and I never will."

They were the words he'd hoped for almost his entire life. Lana Lang, the most beautiful girl in high school, his first love, the woman he'd wanted to spend his life with, standing in front of him telling him that she loved him and wanted to be with him.

He should have been ecstatic. She'd come back, after ripping his heart out telling him that he needed to be on his own in order to find himself and that she couldn't stand in his way. After all of those long nights wondering to himself how she could simply walk away with his heart in pieces, here she was, offering to mend the wounds and put all those pieces back together. But as she stood there, the light wrapping around her silhouette like a blanket, he realized that he was no longer broken and hadn't been for a long time.

"You don't know what it means to me to hear you say that, Lana." When she smiled again and took a step toward him he shook his head slightly to halt her progress. "I've loved you longer than I can remember. You were the first person, aside from my parents, that could really touch me, really see me for who I am. I did everything I could to make you stay with me because somewhere inside me I knew that I needed to be with the people I loved. You were my whole world. My every thought, my every breath was for you. When you left I thought I would never be able to survive.

"But I did survive, Lana. I survived and, what's more, I moved on. I'm not going to tell you that it didn't hurt, because it did, and I'm not going to deny that I've wondered about how it would be if we'd done things differently, because I have. It's taken me these last few months but I know now that you were right to leave. My life has been centered here in Smallville forever and it's been so comfortable that I never tried to look beyond it, or beyond you."

Tears had begun to silently stream down Lana's face, her breath started to hiccup and Clark could see her shoulders shaking as she tried to hold back the sobs. Clark felt a pang of remorse as he watched Lana valiantly cling to her dignity; he didn't want to cause her pain but he knew he had to bring closure to both of them.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, Lana. If anything, I want to thank you. You jerked me out of my complacency and made me realize that I need to pursue my destiny, not just let it happen to me."

Lana gave a hollow, bitter laugh.

"Well, Clark, I'm glad you've got it all figured out. I can't believe I thought you'd still care or that you'd hold a grudge like this."

"I'm not holding a grudge, Lana, and I do still care about you. I just don't love you the way I used to. My life changed when you left. When you said goodbye you gave me a second chance to live. I don't regret that."

Slipping on his jacket, Clark moved slowly but purposefully past Lana, tears still sliding down her cheeks, and down the stairs. As he walked back to the house he could feel himself finally letting go of Lana and the past.


End file.
